Free Accidentally Catty by Dakota Cassidy

of you lovely ladies? If not, I’ll do that on my way out the door. Again, thank you for your hospitality. You know, the drugs, the cage, the finest of clothing. All of it. Just brilliant. Good luck to you and your . . . your . . . well, just good luck, Dr. Woods. And remember, we’ll always have Paris, or, er, wherever we are. I’ll see myself out.”
    “Sit,” Wanda growled, jabbing a finger in his chest until he plopped on the stool Nina chucked under his backend. “You’re not going anywhere, and it isn’t just because you hold the key to this mystery. We can’t let you go out there in nothing but a lab coat.You don’t even know who you are, let alone where you come from, or how you got to a place like an exotic animal park. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to help.”
    “Some of us more than others,” Nina remarked in her acerbic tone.
    Wanda rolled her eyes. “We’re not crazy. Well, Nina’s crazy, but I promise I’ll keep a close eye on her so it doesn’t rub off.”
    Spanky’s gaze was unwavering when his suspicious eyes took in Wanda’s. “After everything I’ve heard tonight—cougars, shifting, mind-reading, crazy never once crossed my mind.” His tone was full of the sarcasm Katie herself had tinted her words with earlier.
    Skater boy was in for a hella surprise.
    “The word was nutter ,” Nina corrected. “That’s what crossed your mind.”
    He held up a hand while shaking his head. “Right. Either way, and as kind as your offer is, I think I’ll try and tough this one out alone.”
    “Look,” Wanda continued. “I’m sure all of the information that’s been bandied about tonight makes it seem as if we’re all just one butterfly net away from the loony bin, but what we say is true. About you. About us.”
    Katie, tired and in need of anything alcoholic with the word tini tacked onto it, had had enough. If she had to be dumped into the river of acceptance headfirst, then so did the perp of the crime.
    She slapped her good hand on her thigh. “You know what, ladies? I hate to ask you to pull out all the paranormal stops again, but I have a suggestion. Show him. At least he’ll know the business about you all is true, and the possibility exists. Kaih, Ingrid, and I will wait out in the reception area. There are plenty of towels in the upper cabinets. You know, in case things get messy .”
    She was almost pleased by the nearly undetectable loss of color in Spanky’s cheeks. Almost. She wasn’t entirely convinced he was being truthful, despite Nina’s mind-reading accuracy. If he really didn’t know he was a cougar, that notion brought with it a whole new can of worms. How could he doubt their existence if he had no memory of anything other than her taters?
    “Oh, please do. Show me, ladies,” Spanky encouraged cockily. The smug tilt of his lips and that “yeah, right” expression reminded Katie of someone.
    Oh, yeah. Her. The her of two hours ago when unicorns and trolls under bridges were still only mythological mysteries.
    Nina laughed, holding her fist, knuckles forward at Katie. “You aiiight, Doc.” She sighed with contentment. “Shit. I love this part. Twice in one night is pushing orgasmic.”
    Katie, giddy from the night’s events, actually giggled like she hadn’t in a coon’s age. “I know you do. We’ll be right out here,” she said to Spanky. “In case you need tissues,” she joked, letting the examining room door close behind her, blocking out his skeptically handsome face.
    Wanda poked her head out. “Wait, Katie. He’s been through a lot. He genuinely can’t remember who he is. I don’t know that it’s wise to, well, to freak him out any more than I’m sure he already is.”
    Katie felt a moment of sympathy, but she let it pass due to the severity of her condition and the need for answers. “I think he’s pretty tough, Wanda. I also think all’s fair in love and the quest to rid yourself of teeth fit for a woolly mammoth. I need